The Secret By Pablo Justin Summary

Getting through high school, getting a license, getting into college, and getting a job are all extremely intimidating parts of every young adult’s life, but it is hard to imagine doing all these things illegally with the fear that at any moment everything could come crashing down. In Jose Antonio Vargas’s article, “My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant”, Vargas explains his take on the struggles of being a gay, illegal immigrant trying to achieve the American Dream. Throughout the article, Vargas tells his story and really makes the reader feel sympathy for his fight and his strength. He does a very good job keeping the readers drawn in as well as appealing to pathos and ethos.

A particular question that is seldom pondered over and yet is capable of carrying so many doubts within it: who are we? Who are we as a society who can do the things we do? Who are we who can suffer from them? Award winning poet and essayist Susan Griffin confronts these distinct questions in her work titled, “Our Secret”. Griffin believes that a basic understanding of the things that play a part in the growth of an individual is essential to understanding who we are. The way a child is raised dictates how that child is going to become later on in life. One of the distinct highlights of Griffin’s essay was her use of describing the progress of the V1 rockets in World War II. Griffin studies the aspects of human nature by using these missile developments as a metaphor to symbolize the raising of children and the factors that can influence a growing individual. One of the prime figures that Griffin uses pertaining to these growing individuals was Heinrich Himmler, leader of the Nazi secret police. Griffin uses Himmler as an example to demonstrate how big of a role a parental figure can play in the development of a person.

Immigrating to America is a process in which many people all across the world entrust as their one way ticket to a better life. Whether they do so legally or illegally, coming to the United States ensures better opportunities, economically, politically, and so on, to people who would have otherwise been worse off in their countries of origin. Even so, the common understanding of being “better off” can be considered a misconstrued concept when it comes to living in the states. Many families that choose to immigrate to the U.S. fail to realize the cultural hardships that newcomers tend to face once on American soil. Anything from racial discrimination or bias at work, in neighborhoods, at school, etc., can all be challenges that people encounter when making a move to the U.S. Such challenges are described by Richard Rodriquez in his autobiography Hunger of Memory. In this passage, he explains how cultural differences between Mexican and American ways of life have shaped him into the person that he is today. He also chooses to highlights the problems that he faces growing up in a predominately white neighborhood, while attending a predominantly white institution. Much of his writing consists of the cultural differences and pressures he feels to assimilate to Western culture and how this process, in turn, changes him into the person that some may find to be unethical, but nonetheless, someone he is proud of.

Immigration is a very dangerous and risky journey. Everyday immigrants try so hard to make it to the United States. This journey involves parents trying to support kids back home, families trying to start over, or kids trying to get to their mom; but some do not make it through this hardship. Those individuals, who make it, try like never before to support themselves and the family they needed to leave behind. Enrique’s Journey by Sonia Nazario is a well written novel that uses many pathos, logos, and ethos examples. Each one of them is used effectively because of the way students are persuaded in believing there true. Elements from the quotes can reveal that Sonia is knowledgeable and

Throughout life, every individual must face obstacles; some more difficult than others. In the story “The Trip” by Laila Lalami, poem “Exile” by Julia Alvarez, and article “Outlaw: My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant” by Jose Antonio Vargas, there is a main character who has to face many challenges because of the fact that they’re immigrants. In all three texts, it is evident that being an immigrant has many affects on their lives. However, this label and the obstacles that come with it didn’t stop each character from pushing forward.

No cars: That’s when I began to understand, and my nerves stretched tighter and tighter as I walked.” (Northrop, 35). He also tells us through the text that “We thought that was as bad as it could get. And then the power went out.” (Northrop, 52) and “I turned the faucet knob and nothing came out.” (Northrop, 132). These sentences help to develop the mood of isolation and being cut off from the rest of society. The students can’t call or text anyone from their snowy prison, and nobody knows that they are still there. There is no way for any cars to even get to the school, and plows would end up stuck in the snow as well. The power goes out and the pipes freeze, making the students feel even more separate from the rest of the world, since they don’t even have access to basic necessities like light and running water. All in all, the descriptions used in the story are the main method that the author uses when developing the mood.

When most people think about immigration to the United States, they think of the U.S. as being the “land of opportunity,” where they will be able to make all of their dreams come true. For some people, immigration made their lives richer and more fulfilled. This however, was not always the case. A place that is supposed to be a “Golden Land” (Marcus 116) did not always welcome people with open arms. Even after people became legal citizens of the United States, often times the natural born Americans did not treat the immigrants as equals but rather as outsiders who were beneath them in some way. In some situations, people’s lives were made worse by coming to the “land of opportunity.” Often times people were living no better than they

In addition to the memoir and T.E.D. talk, the poem Legal Alien demonstrates that an immigrant coming into the U.S. can feel a sense of pride towards their background in contrast to the interview Breaking Down the Complexities of U.S. Migration Law by Michael Martin and Karen Tumlin that expresses that our view of immigrants is not to the point where it should be and that inhibits ones success in our country. In Funny in Farsi, Firoozeh Dumas presents that not every immigrant has to go through hardships to become a successful person. Furthermore, Dumas goes into depth explaining that a U.S. citizen is something you feel rather than a title you are given. Of course, after you pass the immigrant test you become a citizen what really matters is how you feel.

After being crushed with deep sorrow over the death of his beloved Ligeia, the narrator moves into a decaying abbey to leave behind his lonesome house. Although he leaves the exterior of the house untouched, the narrator decorates the interior with strange but lavish furniture. “The furnishings take on the shapes and colors of his fantastic dreams” as he attempts to cope with his loss (Kincheloe). This supports the idea that the narrator would rather live in his own colorful fantasy (like the inside of his house), than engage in the dark reality (as represented by the outside of the house). Losing Ligeia meant the narrator lost his fulfillment in life; which is why his reality is now gloomy and undesirable. Not only does is the furniture an example of dream imagery, the walls of the desolate house also have a dream effect. The moving images on the walls cause the house itself to seem restless and alive. The narrator imagines this because it represents himself; always on the edge of monstrosity with each changing mood. As he hallucinates on opium, his sense of reality and fantasy is put together as one. With each furnishing, a looming memory of Ligeia haunts him as he reminances her during his opium dreams.

The voice when you are listening to the story is sorta dull and empty. As if the speaker is describing a daily routine, surrounded by a cold lifeless environment. However, the voice softens as the speaker relives a past memory with their late father. Showing deep affection towards his father. Similarly the voice remains light hearted as speaker mentions a supposed encounter with his father but realized it wasn’t his father. The closing at the end; the voice sounds as if the speaker prepares his dinner and sarcastically, to feel, shares the pleasure of his own loneliness.

Since the revelation, she shut herself away in the consultant’s office and shouted at everyone who dared to enter. No member of staff dared come close, even when it was regarding a patient; they knew now it was best to steer clear and that there would only be one person who could possibly settle Serena’s mood.

Jack London’s “To Build a Fire” is the story of a nameless hiker traveling with his dog who has gone into the Alaskan winter with only enough to make fire, and one meal. He is making his journey by foot to meet up with his friends at a camp that lies a day ahead. He has prior experience with cold temperatures but his overconfident manner doesn’t allow him to make reasonable decisions throughout his journey. As the weather gets colder his confidence in survival quickly decreases causing him to regret his decision to ignore lifesaving advice from an experienced man. London portrays a theme of death in this short story and more is learned about the process of the characters thoughts; this shows the struggles the man faces as he comes to a harsh realization in the cold of the Alaskan wilderness.

Chase Booth argues that the obsession with beauty and the shared love of Ancient Greece between the classics majors, ultimately leads to their demise and even though it may seem beautiful, the content of The Secret History is nothing but dark and tragic.

In all her years spent living in Moscow, she had never seen the city loose its activity amount, there was so much energy and life going everywhere she set feet on, for a short period after returning she had felt like a stranger living in a foreign country, her own nonetheless. The only inconvenient she could find other than the corruption was the cold weather, snowy days looked harsh to her, especially back when she had gotten used to sunny Miami. Signs of the beginning of spring were a little showing already, blossoming flowers replacing the white snow coats and relatively warmer temperatures brought some revival to the

Each and every story in Selections from Underground America: Narratives of undocumented Lives, show that these citizens are trying to be free. Through my lifetime, I came across a quote that connects to my essay. Ralph Ellison, “When I discover who I am, I’ll be free.” Everyone in these stories are trying to find a better life, meaning to be free, and find the American Dream.